1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to omni-directional treadmills; that is treadmills that allow users to walk or run in any arbitrary direction. Currently, omni-directional treadmills are mechanically complex, noisy, and expensive. A need exists for affordable, quiet omni-directional treadmills that have smooth, continuous surfaces.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,743,154 discloses an omni-directional moving surface composed of a spheroid bladder, a walking platform enveloped by that bladder, and a support base with ball-bearings. That system involves the stretching of a spheroid shape to approximate a flat surface, and does not provide means for a powered drive.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,854 discloses an omni-directional treadmill. Because that system has a walking surface composed of many small rotating elements, that system may be too noisy to be practical in many applications, and the smoothness of such a surface is limited.
There is a need in the art for an improved continuous, fully omni-directional motorized moving surface that can be used as a treadmill or motion simulator.